Search Results for: watercolor

Happy Weekend!

Well, I meant to write my usual weekly round up last Friday, but we decided to take advantage of the Veterans Day weekend and escape DC for a few days at my dad’s house in New Jersey (boy, did we need it!). But honestly, despite my intentions I’m not sure I actually could have written my usual post last week. I try to keep a positive tone here, and I think I needed more time to wrap my head around everything that has happened in our country in the last couple of weeks. I rarely discuss political issues here, but I couldn’t move forward without acknowledging that this has been a very difficult time for many of us, myself included. I posted this on Instagram the day after the election, when I felt the need to be quiet, to listen and process. Two weeks later, I’m still feeling pretty unsettled, and I want to send a giant virtual hug to everyone out there who might be feeling the same way. But life moves forward and this too shall pass, and in the meantime I’ll do my best to bring a smile to your face by sharing beautiful stationery that helps celebrate life’s special occasions and encourages us to connect with each other in a meaningful way.

Anne Robin Calligraphy / Throw Kindness Around Like Confetti

Image (and print) by Anne Robin Calligraphy via Instagram

A few links for your weekend:

Recently on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

That’s it for us this week! I’ll see you back here next week! xoxo

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

Hello! This month I’ve personally felt a mound of emotional heaviness, so I was looking for this illustration installment to add some lightness. For me, flowers — and really anything botanical — are always a natural way of lifting my spirits. And I’m a huge fan of wildflowers — Maine wildflowers were, in fact, the makeup of my wedding bouquet. So when I stumbled on the work of illustrator/artist Katie Daisy through a search for botanical illustrations, I knew this was where I wanted to stay for a while. Her illustrated field guide book, How to Be a Wildflower, is now high on my wish list, and her work is something I’d also like to share with my 5-year-old daughter — another big fan of wildflowers. Let’s forage through the lovely botanical illustrations by Katie Daisy and her colorful uplifting quotes to capture some positive sunshine. – Jen

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

Here’s a peek into her New York Times bestselling book, How to Be a Wildflower, which includes activities to do that get you out amongst the trees and flowers:

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

Katie Daisy must undoubtedly be inspired by her location, as she lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon — a place chock full of trails to hike and wildflowers to pick (or so I’ve seen in photos on my Instagram! Oregon is on my travel wishlist.)

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

I love the way Katie combines typography with illustration. It’s easy for quotes to go the “cheesy” route or feel overplayed, but her illustrations with words simply feel happy and modern. I could see hanging one of these prints in a kitchen or bathroom just as easily as art in my kiddos’ bedroom.

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

The World of Illustration: Watercolor Illustration by Katie Daisy

What also struck me as I checked out Katie’s website and Etsy shop is the extensive body of work she’s created! This is a tiny glimpse of her illustrated art prints and there’s even a whole collection of gifts — from illustrated tote bags to pencil pouches. What would be on the top of your list? I can say at the moment, this art print with the trees and that meaningful proverb is what I’d like to hang up in my entry as a gentle reminder.

The World of Illustration: Botanical Illustrations by Katie Daisy

Thanks for following along this installment of the World of Illustration. Be back here again soon!

Photo Credits: Katie Daisy

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations

After the turbulence of the last couple of weeks, I think we could all use a quick mental vacation to the Caribbean – don’t you agree? Well, Nichole of Coral Pheasant is coming to our rescue with these modern tropical destination wedding invitations for a wedding in Barbados! The invitation suite features a color palette inspired by the island, with lush greens, pops of coral, and vibrant citrus tones, along with some gorgeous spot calligraphy and the most perfectly curated postage stamps. I’m also loving the fun and playful language in the RSVP and rehearsal dinner invitation!

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations by Coral Pheasant

From Nichole: Jessica and Matt came to me by way of the fabulous Jubilee Events, who created the vision for their destination wedding in Barbados. Out of the gate I knew Jessica was my kind of gal when she expressed that it was important for their invitations to celebrate the sacrament of marriage while also being fun and surprising. Yes gurl, yes! Let’s do this! The tropical celebration they were planning embraced the natural surroundings of Barbados and more specifically their reception venue, Cobblers Cove, whose tag line reads “English elegance with Caribbean character.”

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations by Coral Pheasant

For their invitation suite we incorporated bright, vibrant colors inspired by the island: the lush green gardens, the coral colored plantation and cheerful pops of citrus. Gorgeous calligraphy by Everly Calligraphy was paired with modern fonts and fun language. The main invitation was letterpress printed on double thick eggshell stock and the enclosure cards were flat printed on matching, lighter weight cover stock.

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations by Coral Pheasant

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations by Coral Pheasant

With their wedding being a multi-day destination event, it was important to share all the details with their guests in a cute and concise way. To do that, we created a tri-fold itinerary with custom illustrations by Social Alchemy highlighting the what, when and where. Contrasting patterns inspired by the tropical English aesthetic of Cobblers Cover were layered into the design as seen in the watercolor leaves on the itinerary and the lattice-like design on the envelope liner.

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations by Coral Pheasant

Tropical themed vintage stamps and a lemon yellow silk ribbon added texture and color to the suite. Bringing the paper story full circle, we used the custom illustrations from the itinerary on cheerful colored cocktail napkins for the various weekend events.

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations by Coral Pheasant

Modern Tropical Destination Wedding Invitations by Coral Pheasant

Thanks Nichole!

Invitations and Styling: Coral Pheasant
Calligraphy: Everly Calligraphy
Building Illustrations: Social Alchemy

Coral Pheasant is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of Nichole’s beautiful work right here or visit the real wedding invitations gallery for more invitation inspiration!

Photo Credits: Charlotte Jenks Lewis

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations

What do elephants, lemons, and stained glass windows have in common?? They’re all sources of inspiration for these vibrant blue and red watercolor wedding invitations by Caroline of Lovely Paper Things. The couple drew inspiration from various components of their relationship for their invitations, including odes to where they were engaged, where they went on dates, and what they received as an engagement present! We absolutely love how Caroline artfully crafted all these elements into a cohesive and festive design for their wedding guests to enjoy!

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Lovely Paper Things

From Caroline: Elephants, lemons, and stained glass windows, oh my!! Over the years I’ve had the delight of working with some pretty amazing couples, and after getting to know each of them I’ve had the joy of finding at least one special element that was important to their relationship, which we have woven into their suite in one way or another. From colors and symbols, to subtle shapes, textures, and florals, these elements can take many forms. However, it’s not every day that I receive a request for a wedding suite to incorporate art, elephants, lemons, Korean and Chinese details, swords, rocks, and flowers! So, when Maria and Paul’s sweet email came through wanting to incorporate these goodies from their love story, I knew this was going to be one special couple and one amazing wedding suite! Oh my goodness it was a blast!

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Lovely Paper Things

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Lovely Paper Things

We started by creating their circle die cut, stained glass window save the date, which was inspired by the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. where Paul proposed. And we wove lemons and flowers into the watercolor painted window as a teaser to the rest of the the fun to come in the other pieces of their suite!

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Lovely Paper Things

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Lovely Paper Things

Then we created a custom crest which brought in Maria’s romantic and whimsical side, and Paul’s love for classic details. It included a dancing elephant (representing both their love song and one of their favorite dates at the zoo) wearing a Korean Hambock, a Chinese quail (to represent Paul’s military service and travel around Asia), lemon branches galore (his father gave his mother a lemon tree as a symbol of good luck and years later they gave Maria and Paul a basket of lemons from the tree as an engagement present!), flowers, and all sorts of goodies the couple collects! Even their bold color palette represented their love for Washington D.C. in the fall!

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Lovely Paper Things

Each piece of the suite incorporated at least one of their special love story details, making them super vibrant, personal, and oh so inviting! This is one of my all time favorite suites because Maria and Paul were such sweethearts and it was so fun to create something so personal for them!

Vibrant Blue and Red Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Lovely Paper Things

Thanks Caroline!

Design and Lettering: Lovely Paper Things

Styling: To La Lune

Printer: Czar Press

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Jen Wojcik Photography

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations

Kids often have all the fun when it comes to celebrating birthdays. I’m always so happy to see adults celebrate some of their own milestone birthdays, especially when the invitations are this pretty! Clara of Goldie Design Co. created these traditional black and gold screen printed invitations for a 40th birthday party at an historic hotel full of southern flair. Clara brought the elegant feel of the venue into the invitation design with the moody black and gold color palette and a crest inspired by the hotel logo, along with custom watercolor envelope liners inspired by the hotel’s tile floors. Beautiful!

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

From Clara: This design was for the invitations for Courtney’s 40th birthday celebration to be held at the Hotel Emma in San Antonio, Texas. This hotel is Courtney’s all time favorite, and she wanted the simplicity and elegance of this hotel to shine through in the paper pieces. The Hotel Emma is a historical building that used to be a brewhouse, but now houses the 146 rooms of this riverfront hotel. The elegant and traditional, yet modern and warm southern feel was exactly the look we were going for with the birthday party invitation suite.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

Courtney wanted to incorporate her initials into a crest similar to the hotel’s logo, which she planned to use throughout her stationery for the event. This crest sits centered at the top of the invitation card, with a simple double lined border around the text to give it a traditional feel.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

The invitation card was screen printed in metallic gold ink on a smooth black paper. The typefaces used in the invitation were kept fairly simple, except for her name done in a flowing modern calligraphy, that would tie together with the hand addressed calligraphy envelopes.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

The black and gold color palette brought in that moody southern feel of the hotel, but we wanted to incorporate a pop of color. Courtney mentioned that she loves the beautiful tile floors seen throughout the hotel. After researching these gorgeous floors, I decided that a soft watercolor painting of the tile pattern would provide the perfect pop of color for the invitation suite. So each envelope was adorned with a custom envelope liner featuring a hand-painted watercolor of the floor pattern. It really tied the suite together and gave it that last bit of southern flair.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

The outer envelopes were addressed with calligraphy in metallic gold ink and dressed up with some hand picked vintage stamps to go along with both the theme and color scheme. My favorite stamp used is the Texas statehood one that not only is perfect for the venue of the the party, but also brings out the blues of the watercolor envelope liner. The back flap of the envelope is blind embossed with a simple return address. The invitation was wrapped in a very thin white twine.

Traditional Black and Gold Screen Printed Invitations by Goldie Design Co.

Thanks Clara!

Design, Calligraphy, and Styling:Goldie Design Co.

Screenprinting: Atmosphere Printing Company

Envelopes: Cards & Pockets

Photo Credits: Clara Odgen